Harvesting

The sweet potatoes are finally flowering. They produce beautiful purple flowers that fall off when the potatoes are ready. They open in the morning and close at night. 

Medium cantaloupe hanging on the trellis about 3.5 feet off the ground. The skin is changing slowly, not like the container melons that changed overnight.

Large cantaloupe hanging about one foot off the ground. Skin changing. 

Eggplants of all different shapes and sizes. 

Our first red bell pepper. It has, obviously, yet to turn red but its very exciting to get even one considering that the tomatoes overthrew that box. 

Ready for harvest chili pepper (transferred to PM bed from container). The transfer has done them well we have at least 4 other peppers turning red. 

My full harvest for today; lemon boys, jalapeños, cucumber, tomato-berries, super sweet 100's, and chili pepper.

Weak Spots

Fencing Weak Spots...

When I was out in the garden yesterday I shuffled through the raised bed with melons in it because I wanted to see if we had any signs of watermelon growth and we did. Sadly, they had been bitten into so I decided to find the weak spots in the fence allowing something small in to bite them. I think I found it. It was the start of the fence where I used a insertion poll rather than staples and the wooden polls Mr. S installed. That was the weak spot I found and seems like the only weak spot. When I came out today none of the tomatoes close to the ground had bites taken out of them nor did anything else. Either the animals weren't out last night, not likely because the items on the ground have had bites everyday since ripening started, or the weak spot I chose to reinforce was the "weak spot." I hope by picking the bad melons the plant will put energy into growing new ones and do it soon because watermelons need long hot days and we only have 6 weeks left of summer. 

Harvesting...

I harvested a couple of onions, yellow tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, tomato-berries, and a cantaloupe. The cantaloupe wasn't so much a harvest as a picked from the ground. The larger of the two container cantaloupes finally made its plunge to the ground. I haven't cut it open to see what it looks like yet but my guess is it fell because it was too big and/or as big as it was going to get. I transferred the container melon into the Patch raised bed. Transferred both trellises as well. I forgot to get a picture but ill get one after the rain. Things were wilting and since it was going to rain or was supposed to rain, and did, I didn't want to water or over water. So glad to get some rain, funny how things change. I'm hoping the extra space keeps e container loupe alive. It may not produce but it was so pretty and all of the sudden it wasn't. I'd like to keep it pretty at least for another 6 weeks. 

Today's harvest. B-E-A-utiful!

Melon Bites

Cooking with Gardens...

Mikes parents made the eggplant I picked into eggplant parmesan. I didn't get to taste it but it looked really good. My mom mixed yellow and red cherry tomatoes to make a tri-colored spinach tomato salad. I have yet to use heat with anything but the pickings are good. 

Eggplant Parmesan

Melons have doubled in size over the last two days, even though its been unseasonably cool.

Large flat melon doubled and rounded out.

Today's tomato harvest, my portion, Mikes dad picked a few other earlier.

Small strawberry harvest from 8G bucket. Slowly coming back now that the rain has let up a bit.

Baby watermelons from the raised bed with bite taken out of them. When I saw these I picked them off so that the energy  the plant was putting into trying to grow them would go to growing new ones. I also double enforced what I thought to be the weak spot in the fence allowing animals in to bite them. I hope I'm right because I looked all over for other weak spots and saw nothing so at this point getting full raised bed melons counts on the spot I enforced being it. 

Time After Time

Progression of Gardens...

Over the past few weeks the hot long day plants have been growing wild. I made a point of capturing all the stages of those plants (and others) because there growth has been so obvious and so quick. The raised cantaloupe and watermelon bed started with two 3 inch cantaloupe plants that shot up covered two four foot trellises and kept going. It finally started to fruit at the beginning of last week and boy is it fruiting we have at a least 6 viable melons of all different sizes. My sweet potato slips started off slow finally grew into slips and were transferred with a disappointing "death" and revival. The leaves came in two weeks ago and in the last week the two plants, that I didn't yank out because I thought they were dead, have grow six plus inches in vines. The watermelon container started off slow and didn't grow for weeks then it doubled in size and Tripled and quadrupled all over the bamboo trellis until it started fruiting. When it started fruiting all of the little melons were shriveling up and dying except one. Finally, we got a second one a week ago and now the plant has grown 6-8 inches of vine that I've had to stake because the trellis is full. That vine has a third melon on it. It's tiny but you can tell It is viable and won't be shriveling like the others that have come since the first and second. 

Here is a little pictorial of the plants progression and current state...

First viable Bush Sugar Baby on the first week (L), the 2nd week (top R), and the 3rd week (bottom R). 

The Bush Sugar Baby plant when it was first transplanted from newspaper seedling pots to the recycling bin (L), it doubled in size after no sign of growth for 3 weeks (top R), and now it has covered the trellis and grown vines so long they needed to be staked (bottom R). 

Sweet potatoes over time. The slips finally came out after 8 weeks (L), I planted them in the beginning of the 9th week and the shriveled (top R), and now they are at least 6 inch long vines (bottom R). 

Cantaloupe bed first planted (L), a few weeks later the plants were half way up the two 4 feet tall trellises (top R), and now they are a few inches taller than the trellises (bottom R).  

Cantaloupe bed fruiting. All the different sizes of melons at different stages, currently on the vines. 

Transferred the Pepper Container...

Because the tomato plants have basically taken over all of the neighboring beds the only pepper plant that was doing extremely well was the pepper container. Today I decided that since a bunch of the plots in Patch were now empty that I would transfer the container pepper to give it the space to grow. I took a big chance by guessing that the roots had run out of space and the plant would plop out of the container as a whole. I was right it was like an oversized seedling pot. I turned it over pulled it out and replanted it in the PM raised bed. I watered it with some sea magic and am hoping we get some good sun, which we did today despite the initial clouds dissipated, so that gets the long hot days it needs during this tender time.

Transplanted pepper plant. I thought I had a full photo of it in the container but I didn't, all I had is the top right image of the peppers that started there growth in the container 2 weeks ago. Part of why I thought it needed more space was that the peppers grew quickly then stopped just like my cantaloupe container. 

Melon Baby

Cantaloupe...

The cantaloupes in the raised bed are finally starting to grow in, there are at least 3 of all different sizes. One is flat which is really weird but I'm excited because these should grow to full size. The ones in the container haven't grown for weeks so I picked the smaller of the two so that all the energy went into to growing one. I didn't expect any so getting 2 is amazing and 1 good would would be a miracle considering how small the container is.

Picked container cantaloupe.

Interior of container cantaloupe. 

A second watermelon was hiding under all of the leaves. Pulled it out so that it could get sun. The yellow on the right is where it was touching the ground. 

Pepino

Ripe for the picking...

I went out early this morning to try with the squash again but it was overcast and sunny in short intervals so the flowers weren't open again. I looked around the bottom after giving up on stigma rubbing and noticed that the crookneck plants are taking over the patty-pan space and some of the space in the cantaloupe bed. We do have some nice medium crooknecks growing so some cross-pollination is taking place between the crookneck flowers but the patty-pan has not only been invaded but hasn't grown anymore fruit, at all. 

After checking on the squash I went over to Container Drive to check on the watermelon, cucumbers, eggplant, strawberries, and peppers. I looked into the cucumber container and saw a medium size cuc was ready for the picking. For some reason I shuffled the leaves and an enormous cucumber popped into vision. I was amazed. The container is half the size recommended for growing cucumbers but keeps producing and produced a cucumber more like the store sized ones. I picked it, it was ready and took them inside. After that I went back pick a strawberry and took a few pictures of the progressing melon and eggplant. 

Since it's been sunny and extremely hot the last two days I decided to water everything with sea magic and spray the foliage. I made a gallon of sea magic mix in a pitcher for the spray bottle and made 6 gallons of sea magic in the water can (at separate times). I watered and sprayed everything then went inside to shower. After my shower I took out the ripening tomatoes I picked yesterday and snap a flick of the last two days hull. Our harvests are looking better and better. We would have had more tomatoes today if I was scared to pick them because of the hornworm. I even had a nightmare about it. Ugh! 

2 days worth of harvest. 

Our first eggplant has grown almost an inch each day for the last 3 days. 

Largest cucumber, yet, peeled and chopped. 

Watermelon 5 inches wide and 4 long. It's starting to really weigh down the branch. It probably weighs 2.5lbs. 

Thriving in Excess

Success in Excess... rain

Larger cantaloupe in the container. The skin of the cantaloupe is changing to resemble a full size melon. It has wrinkle and line in beige, all over.

Smaller container melon has started to change but its skin is changing in patches rather than producing lines all over. I don't know if the skin changing means they will stop growing. That may be the case. 

Cantaloupe plants in raised bed. Have climbed the 4 foot trellis to the top and spread out over 4 feet wide and 2 feet deep. Blossoms and small melons starting to grow. Planted weeks after the container. 

Pearl onion from PS and the biggest berry I've gotten overall and only berry I've gotten in over a week. Plucked from the 5G container. The Topsy turvy is basically dead. I wish I hadn't wasted so many plants on it.

I'll post a video update of everything thriving and not so thriving tomorrow. The excess rain has affected the garden, my hopes not so high anymore. 

Watermelon

Bush Sugar Babies...

The recycling bin watermelon container is overflowing with branches and leaves but it has only had very few fruits and the few fruits that have made it from flower to stage one fruiting all shriveled and died until now. We finally have a small plum sized watermelon that seems to be strong and continues to grow. It's very exciting to see the melons move forward in there containers. 

Cantaloupes...

The cantaloupes skin are starting to turn that beige color and have that rough texture. I'll post a picture tomorrow. I didn't have my phone with me as I gardened in Patch.

Hot Chili Peppers...

The pepper plant have tiny green chilies that are standing straight up. They are so cute. It's obvious that everything was dying for a few straight sunny days but sadly the rain is coming back. If we don't start to get sunny days more often and for stretches of time we'll loose the melons, peppers, and anything that required long hot days. I'm still hoping this summer will turn around.

Raincheck

Check it out...

I went outside to check on everything after the hail and major storm. It wasn't a total rain break but I did get a few minutes outside without water coming down on me. So I picked a few strawberries that I knew would mold and I checked on everything else. Nothing had been poorly affected by the first storm, the hardest. I was happy about that. Then I went over to check on my cantaloupe container again. Since I saw the baby watermelons I've been meaning to check for baby cantaloupes. I didn't check for them in the raised bed because they were planted a few weeks after the the container melons. So I started at the bottom and worked my way up. I didn't see anything at all but noticed that the plant had finally attached itself to the trellis properly using its vines. As I was searching to take a picture of the connection between trellis and plant I saw it hanging there, perfectly, a baby cantaloupe. Much bigger than the baby watermelons and hanging just like it was meant to from its connection. I really didn't think I'd get even a baby melon out of that container because it was so small. I'd planted it there because it was an extra and I knew it would be pretty just leaves and flowers. I was excited to see that my green thumb prevailed again I ran inside to tell Mikes dad and get my cellphone to snap a shot. He put his shoes on and came outside to see as I took the pictures. I immediately sent the picture to my mom and Mike. Mike was so psyched for me, we'd just spoken about my lack of confidence in fruiting the night before. I don't know how I missed it. Considering its size its been there at least a few days. Good raincheck, no, GREAT! 

Baby container cantaloupe hanging from its vine connected to the trellis. About 2 inches in length.

Strawberries I picked so they wouldn't mold. These are the biggest I've gotten in awhile. The rain has affected size, most have been the size of the smallest pictured, for the last week or so. 

Doubling Trouble!!!

Growth Galore...

After being in Atlantic City for 5 days I came back to a giant garden. Everything had basically doubled in size. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea.

When I left the green arrow beans were maybe an inch long. Today 40-50 were ready for picking. I picked 21. 

The branches on all 4 of these tomato plants have grown at least 6 inches in every direction. We have about 40 tomatoes in all different shapes and sizes, at all different stages. 

All three of the crookneck plants have grown about 4 inches higher and 3-4 wider. The patty pan (front left) has grown about 2 inches each way. 

The only plant without at least 2 baby squashes to offer is the patty-pan, it has none so far. 

The carrot greens have gotten so thick you can't see any soil. They'll probably be ready for harvest in 10 days.

First radish from my second sowing. This one is twice the size of any of the first sowing but most of them probably won't produce because the roots became long and exposed. I'm not sure why. 

Container cantaloupe in Patch. Almost to the 3rd rung on the trellis. It was barely at the 2nd when I left and only covered the very center now its covering almost the entire trellis in width. 

Tomato-berry plant. This is the plant that wouldn't grow past 4 inches for weeks then shot up 12 and stopped. It's shot up another 3 inches, at least, and out another 4-5. Amazing! 

**More to come in another entry, it won't load properly with too many pics**

Leafy Greens Galore

Harvesting the Leafy...

I went out this afternoon and checked on everything but didn't water because I knew rain was coming. It was overcast and humid so it was definitely coming. The next 5 days are going to be a game changer. The weather is supposed to be in the low 90's and sunny. All of the crops are warm/hot crops except for the lettuce and spinach. Even the carrots I planted are specifically attune to warm/hot weather so the next 5 days should make everything really blossom, not flower blossom, well maybe some but grow quickly. 

After I checked on everything I noticed that some of the spring mix leaves had bolted, gone to seed, flowered. So I decided to harvest. I harvested 2 full baskets between all four heads and the mix green leaves. Even after the two full baskets I yanked there is still at least 4 more baskets for mixed greens and another unknown high number of lettuce leaves since I'm using the continuous method. 

Basket one.

Basket two. 

After harvesting I went back into Patch and noticed that the cantaloupe container had a new flower and that there was a much larger strawberry than the one I deemed "largest yet" hiding in the 5G bucket. I thinned some carrots and radishes while I was there because I remembered what happened with the last batch of radishes. When I thinned the carrots even though they were orange or large I could tell the small roots were starting to form carrots. It was nice to see that they were "working." 

New! Largest berry.

Thinned carrots. If you zoom in you an see the roots starting to take carrot shape. 

Cantaloupe flower.

Slips...

I forgot to write about how I pulled my slips off of the sweet potato yesterday and stuck them in a glass of water to take root. I did. I did so because the leaves had lost there vibrant green and purple color and turned yellowish but I didn't feel they were tall enough. They haven't started to root yet and I'm not sure that they will but I do hope. 

I took pictures of the changes in the patty-pan and crookneck squashes. They'd grown and lost blossoms. 

Blossom wilted and fruit growing.